If you are a member of a church that doesn't call out sin, you are in the wrong church. Any unlawful sexual activity in a church needs to be turned in to the local police.
I agree totally! Which is why l don’t understand the whole Mike Bickle thing. If there are 5 women who’ve definitely been abused by him, why don’t they get together, hire a lawyer and lay all their cards on the table? Someone said there was a consensual component involved. Were they all 5 consensual? Surely not! Regardless, they have a responsibility to reveal it to prevent the continued abuse of others, right? I am a very determined and plainspoken woman. Even as a 16 yo girl (long ago), l had a similar situation, confronted the man immediately and shut it down. Women are no longer shrinking violets and its not 1900 anymore. We have rights and protections by law. None of it makes any sense.
Excellent guest and timely discussion to highlight the scourge of wolf accomodation within the "edifice". "Seared Conscious", Fits Driscoll and many, many, many others to a T at minimum. "The Wolves so well disguised" perfectly describes the danger many people are in when "attending" the edifice that has replaced the biblical model of assembling yourselves together - the house church.
Yes!! Reformed theology is circular and NOT the Gospel ultimately!! So glad you are saying this!! We must know what scripture says and the TRUTH that we each can know and have the Holy Spirit to discern. We are NOT to worship men - and that means lifting them to scripture like status (Calvin, Luther, Augustine, any older figurehead) and quoting them and their system without looking at their actual works as compared to scripture (Geneva = killing others with different beliefs, the hatred of others, and the elevation of a certain system over the simple truth of believing in grace through faith, not regeneration and then the rest).
JOHN 19:11--Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the GREATER SIN." NO SIN LEVELING HERE!!!
Thank you for this episode. We’ve seen and experienced it all over decades of SDA (for me) and then charismatic church experiences in different streams. We were even at Metro Christian Fellowship right before IHOP KC was born. We’ve been impacted heavily by the Vineyard, Word of Faith and NAR movements. We are now in a deconstruction period of re-evaluating what we’ve believed, who and what we’ve listened to, seen and experienced over the years. Mike Bickle and his egregious behavior hasn’t really shaken our theology, but losing both sons certainly did. So much to process. So much to shed. Turning back to the Word. Digging in to find truth with a capital T. No more man-made manipulations and distortions to the Word of God. So thankful for a ministry that calls out deception, hypocrisy, abuse of the sheep, vampirism in the Body of Christ, shepherds muddying the waters with their feet. Thank you for what you are doing, Julie.
Hi, Valerie. I'm really sorry about what happened to you and your family. We had things happen that were not so complicated but were quite awful. There is so much bad theology in the church, and subsequentially bad behavior. We've seen that there's lots of selfish ambition in the church, which leads to all kinds of evil. (James 3:16) I hope you are finding peace in your recovery.
I have just recently become aware of your ministry, and I am appreciating it very much! This term "sin leveling" is new to me, but the concept has bothered me for years! I taught Bible Studies in various parts of the country and have so often heard this foolish idea that all sins are equal. I have used the following to help people understand: God says all sin separates the unrighteous from God, but He is not stupid! The sin of a little boy who steals a pencil is not equal to the sins of Hitler! Any sensible person can see this. (I, too, was brought up Armenian and left it long ago, still could not call myself a Calvinist, but lean somewhat to that side.)
I highly recommend Dr. Leighton Flowers RU-vid channel 𝗦𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆101 and his teachings on Provisionism, which is neither Armenian nor Calvinist. It has helped me tremendously.
Re: the “worst” vs. “first” of sinners-great discussion. In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostem still in use in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, before taking Communion, we recite the pre-Communion prayer which begins “I believe and I confess that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God who came into the world to save sinners of whom I am first….” In a sense, we do follow St. Paul as an example of humility as we approach to Commune with the Lord in this context. That is a very different context than using it as a muzzle on members the local congregation so they don’t call out egregious sin on the part of those in power. It certainly didn’t keep St. John silent vs. the sins of the powers that be in his day, nor St. Paul the Apostle who first claimed this description. St. John was known for his fiery prophetic preaching. Both Saints were persecuted and martyred for speaking truth to power.
Rom 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
I am reading , " What Love Is This", by the late Dave Hunt. It takes a very extensive look at the history of Calvinism. Very interesting. I identify as a , Christ follower only. Not by any theology. I am Christ's servant and desire to show my love for Him, by my obedience to His word and my love for others. I fall short, but the scripture calls us "saints" , Because of our redemption and freedom in Christ from the "noose" of sin.
This was very helpful. Last year my husband and I's former church was called out by an abuse victim. The abuse happened ten years prior while we were attendees. We were very active in this church during that time and knew the victim. We had no idea this happened. The church's response when she came forward last year to say it was mishandled and she was harmed, was to stonewall and call it gossip. Then the lead pastor did a Sunday service where everyone was handed a stone when they walked in and the pastor spoke about not throwing stones, he said life is better when you lower your expectations and a video was shown of a woman who had cancer then realized she needed to forgive the pastor and she was now cancer free. This service is still on RU-vid. My husband and I have been trying to make sense of this. How could we be so gullible. The big question is how can people we know who still attend this church be so gullible. This explains a lot. Thank you!
Mrs. Daivs is spot on with everything she says,though I would agree to disagree on one point: The example of Jer. 17:9......even Christians in their carnal state can be as wicked as an unbeliever. Does that mean these preachers (I hate to use the term"Pastor" in this case) are born again believers? I tend not to think so,but it may be possible. Why? Because it's possible they entered the ministry with sin that they refused to resolve.The daily cleansing power of the Lord Jesus Christ is what helps us as Christians to treat other Christians and unbelievers with Grace. Such preachers bury themselves so deeply in their sin that it takes Spirit-led strength to admit their sin and depart from the ministry.
No sin condemns you to hell if you have believed in Christ as your Savior. He took all your sins past, present, and future in His body on the cross! We continue to ask forgiveness if we sin because we want to please Him.
Yes, forgiveness. The idea of sin leveling, however, is causing some church leaders to counsel a wife to go back to a child-molester because “we all sin.” The truth is that there are some sins that are so egregious that we must leave the situation immediately.
Rebecca I am so excited b/c these very teachings from the wolves (that I don't follow) made me uneasy! Now please use your reasoning regarding the audience that Jesus & the disciples are speaking to & apply it to Mat. 23, 24, 25! If you are honest in your studies, you will see clearly that we are NOT living in the last days/end times! Thanks! Check w/ Don K Preston.
